Creative Planning Acquires 381 Shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA)

Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,630 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Strategic Education were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 253,390 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $23,406,000 after buying an additional 128,961 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Strategic Education during the 1st quarter valued at about $449,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Strategic Education by 32.8% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Strategic Education by 18.7% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,743 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Strategic Education by 78.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,396 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 3,248 shares in the last quarter. 93.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on STRA shares. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Strategic Education in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Strategic Education from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Strategic Education from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Strategic Education from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.00.

Strategic Education Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ STRA opened at $88.14 on Friday. Strategic Education, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.94 and a 1 year high of $123.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.25. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $312.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.16 million. Strategic Education had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 9.84%. Strategic Education’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Strategic Education, Inc. will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Strategic Education Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Strategic Education’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.87%.

Insider Activity at Strategic Education

In related news, Director Viet D. Dinh bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.59 per share, for a total transaction of $477,950.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,711.80. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Strategic Education Profile

Strategic Education, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides education services through campus-based and online post-secondary education, and programs to develop job-ready skills. The company operates through U.S. Higher Education, Australia/New Zealand, and Education Technology Services segments. It operates Strayer University that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, criminal justice, education, health services, information technology, and public administration at physical campuses located in the eastern United States, as well as through online; non-degree web and mobile application development courses through Hackbright Academy and Devmountain; and MBA online through its Jack Welch Management Institute.